Ideas for First Foods for Baby to Try

November 8, 2017

Time flies when you have a baby. One second, she’s rolling over for the first time and you find yourself clapping so much you’d thought your favorite football team had just won the Super Bowl. The next second, she’s ready for solid foods, and you have no idea where to start.

When your little one first starts eating solid foods, single-grain infant cereals mixed with formula or breast milk are a great place to start. Try feeding him this for three or four days, and then begin to introduce pureed fruits, veggies and grains. The consistency should be very thin and runny, which is easier to accomplish with softer fruits and veggies. As you start to feed your baby his first solid foods, only do one new fruit at a time—as your love bug has an easier time trying new foods, you can start experimenting with recipes.

There are certain foods that are easier for your baby’s tiny tummy to digest and that also have much less potential for causing allergies. The following fruits, veggies and grains are good options:

Fruits

Vegetables

Grains

Squash

Green beans

Rice

Avocados

Carrots

Oatmeal

Pears

Peas

Barley

Plums

Sweet potatoes

Pumpkins

As your little one starts to eat a wider variety of fruits and veggies, you can start experimenting with other kinds of foods. You can begin introducing pureed meats next (sounds appetizing, right?). Try seemingly random foods such eggs, lentil beans, and plain yogurt, all of which are good for your baby. Stick to one at a time, and follow the three-day rule: Only feed one kind of new food at a time to make sure that your baby reacts to it well and doesn’t have an allergy or tummy issues. If you decide a food is safe for your baby, feel free to mix a new food in with any of the safe foods that she’s tried.

You may find that your baby particularly enjoys fruits. Her taste buds appreciate sweeter flavors the most right now. It’s easy to want to stick to these as a result, but be sure to mix up the menu for your future foodie. You’re helping her develop her palate right now, so try alternating the lineup: a vegetable for one meal, then a fruit, then a meat. Don’t stress out if she doesn’t like a dish—sometimes it can take over 10 tries for a baby to accept a new food!

Be sure to watch out for allergies and diaper rash, and keep in mind that some foods may have different effects on your little one’s digestion. Prunes may soften his doodies, for example, while bananas and rice cereal may cause constipation. Oatmeal is a better grain to feed him if this becomes an issue.

Feeding your sweet pea her peas probably won’t be as hard as you think it is! It may take some getting used to for the both of you, but it’ll be second nature before you know it. As time (quickly) passes, you’ll realize that these moments weren’t quite as stressful as they were special.

This material is intended to provide basic information and is not medical advice. All medical advice, diagnosis and treatment should be obtained from your physician. The product information provided in this site is intended for residents of the United States.